SynthesisBMJ open2026
Impact of frailty on postoperative delirium in ICU patients aged 65 and older: a systematic review.
Synthesis in BMJ open, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Association between frailty and postoperative delirium after transcatheter aortic valve replacement: a meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Pooled it
- Development and Validation of an Interpretable Machine Learning Model for Predicting ICU-Acquired Weakness in Postoperative Patients.Nursing in critical care · 2026Article
- Serum C1q as a Novel Predictive Biomarker for Postoperative Delirium After Acute Type A Aortic Dissection.Immunity, inflammation and disease · 2026Article
- Comment on "Unmasking Risk in the Elderly: Predictors of Emergency Department Outcomes and the Role of Early Warning Score".Geriatrics & gerontology international · 2026Article
- [Intensive care of elderly patients : Core nursing responsibilities and central care priorities].Medizinische Klinik, Intensivmedizin und Notfallmedizin · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesThe objective was to assess whether frailty is associated with an increased risk of postoperative delirium (POD) in intensive care unit (ICU) patients aged 65 years and older.
designA systematic review was conducted in accordance with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis guidelines. MEDLINE (via PubMed) and the Cochrane Library were searched for studies published between August 2014 and January 2025, assessing frailty with validated instruments and reporting POD during ICU stay. While the search strategy was not limited to a specific study design, only observational studies met the inclusion criteria. Study quality was appraised using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS). Due to methodological heterogeneity, results were synthesised narratively.
settingThis review targeted the intensive care setting specifically, including studies conducted in hospital-based ICUs in various countries.
resultsOf 655 records, five studies (n=3045) met inclusion criteria. Frailty prevalence ranged from 10% to 34.9%. Tools used included the Fried Frailty Scale, modified Frailty Index (mFI), FRAIL Scale (Fatigue, Resistance, Ambulation, Illnesses, and Loss of weight), Comprehensive Assessment of Frailty and Edmonton Frailty Scale. Frail patients had higher POD incidence and experienced more complications such as acute kidney injury, prolonged mechanical ventilation and reoperation. NOS scores ranged from 5 to 7, indicating moderate quality.
conclusionFrailty appears to be associated with an increased risk of POD in ICU patients aged 65 and older. Given the limited number and heterogeneity of studies, further research is needed to validate this relationship and to inform targeted prevention strategies in critical care. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/7TWQ8.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.